The New Girl
by Kalta79
Summary: This is an AU fic, where Shin-Ra corporation never existed, so almost everything is different, and Aerith moves away from her family into her own apartment for some privacy. I have this idea in my head that Aerith basically has moved into an episode of MTV's The Real World, except it's for the whole apartment building, not just one huge apartment. I'm not tagging any relationships
1. Chapter 1

Aerith took the first box of her belongings up the stairs to her new apartment at The Midgar Commons, since she didn't want to wait for the elevator. She was so excited…her very own place, no more of her younger brothers and sisters always bugging her, or her parents constantly trying to marry her off their friends' sons. She would finally have privacy, and lots of peace and quiet. There was a little balcony on which she could grow hardy flowers, and the tender ones could be grown inside by the sliding glass door. There was little room in the big city of Midgar to have a proper garden plot, but Aerith had always had a special touch with flowers, which her mother Ifalna had explained to her being due to her Cetra heritage. Ifalna had also made sure Aerith knew it was nobody's business that they had a very close relationship with the planet. So Aerith started growing rare and therefore extremely valuable flowers, because even though they didn't do well in containers for others, they would for her.

"Oh!" Aerith exclaimed when she reached the door of her new apartment. She was surprised by what must be her next door neighbor in front of his apartment. She had never seen him before, and the real estate agent, a Mr. Barret Wallace, seemed reluctant to tell her anything about her neighbors, and she knew why now. He looked…she couldn't even think of an appropriate. His red hair was somewhat unkempt, he was tall and gangly, and his clothes were dirty and wrinkled. Taking a deep breath, she decided to be polite. "Hello, I'm Aerith Faremis." she said to the strange man.

He looked at her, and Aerith felt her skin crawl with the way he looked her over, and even if his eyes were nice, his first words weren't. "I'm not buying whatever you're selling, sister. And I'd change your name if I were you, if you want to be a successful salesman." he replied, taking her box to be goods for sale.

"I'm not a salesperson!" Aerith indignantly retorted, then realized she actually was, her lucrative flower business allowed her afford her own place while she saved up for a house to grow more flowers. "I live here now." she told the man in a calmer tone, putting her box down in front of her door while she got her key out.

"Oh, well in that case, I'm Reno Sinclair. And I'd be happy to throw you a house-warming party for two tonight if you're available." Reno leered at her before disappearing into his apartment.

"Jerk!" Aerith muttered, taking her first box into her apartment. It wasn't large by any means, but it was adequate with a bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, and the main living space. Her nice four-poster canopy bed at home wouldn't fit in the small bedroom, so she would sleep on the floor tonight and tomorrow buy a proper bed that would fit in that small space. Putting her box on the floor just inside the door, she left to go get more boxes, locking the front door again, not trusting that Reno man to not sneak into her apartment and do something disgusting. When she was locking the door, she saw a pretty dark-haired woman leaving the apartment on the other side of her, with an empty wine bottle in one hand.

"I'll be back with lunch soon, Rufus." the woman said before closing the door, then noticed Aerith standing there.

Hoping for a better introduction to another tenant, Aerith tried again. "Hello, I'm Aerith Faremis, I just moved here."

"Oh, you're the new girl. Cid mentioned something about a new tenant when he was fixing our sink. I'm Tifa Lockhart." Tifa stuck her hand out towards Aerith.

Relieved to have a friendly gesture, Aerith told herself she must have imagined that slightly unfriendly look in Tifa's eyes at first. "Cid?" she asked as she shook Tifa's hand.

"He's the handyman for this building, weren't you told about him? He and his wife Shera live in the basement in the most spacious of the apartments here. They're nice. I live on the first floor." Tifa explained.

"You have strong hands." Aerith blurted out, surprised at the strength of Tifa's grip.

"I'm a martial artist." Tifa smiled. "It pays to keep in shape."

"It was nice to meet you, but I have to go finish bringing in my boxes now." Aerith offered as a reason to end the conversation. She felt uncomfortable with someone potentially violent.

"Oh, if you need help with that, let me get Cloud and we'll help you." Tifa offered.

"Cloud?" Aerith inquired.

"My best friend. We're sharing the apartment to save money. College isn't cheap." Tifa explained as they waited for the elevator.

"Oh, you're going to school?" Aerith started feeling better, Tifa wasn't a professional fighter if she was a student.

"Yeah, I'm studying sports medicine and Cloud is studying law." Tifa informed her.

Aerith brightened even more. A future lawyer would be lovely company, and she looked forward to meeting Cloud. Tifa opened her apartment and loudly called for Cloud's help, putting the empty wine bottle in a trash can, and he came out moments later.

"What's so important, Tifa? I was just writing my paper on what constitutes valid contract penalties. Oh…hello there." Cloud saw when he saw Aerith. He smiled at her, and she felt herself smiling back at him. Maybe this place wouldn't be so bad after all, not with a smart and attractive man around.

"Aerith needs help moving her boxes up to her new apartment. It's on the third floor next to Rufus." Tifa told Cloud.

"Oh, sure, we can do that." Cloud agreed.

In less than an hour, everything she had brought with her was in her new apartment, and she thanked the two friends sincerely, promising to repay them when she could.

"Don't worry about it. I need to keep in shape anyway, otherwise I'd be out of a job." Cloud said as they stood in the hallway outside her apartment.

"Oh, where do you work?" Aerith was further impressed by Cloud. He was quite the productive citizen.

"I'm a model." Cloud told her.

"A model?" Aerith tried to keep the shock out of her voice.

"It was all Tifa's fault. She started modeling for Rufus, for free though, but eventually found out artist's models can make a decent living. It's not as easy as you think, especially because if you want to get paid well, you have to do it for art classes, not the individual artists. At least for the starving artists like Rufus, they can't afford to pay the models that much in the first place."

Tifa punched Cloud in the arm. "Rufus is a very talented artist, he just hasn't had the proper exposure yet."

"I didn't say he was a bad artist, Tifa, just not a rich one." Cloud pointed out, rubbing the spot where she hit him.

"Sorry." Tifa mumbled. "That reminds me, I need to go get him his lunch." She hurried back to her own apartment to cook him something.

"I shouldn't have said that, she really has a thing for Rufus and keeps hoping he'll notice her as a real woman, not just a model." Cloud whispered to Aerith before welcoming her again to the apartment building and suggesting a barbecue in her honor, rushing off to get back to his studying.

* * *

"I just checked in on Aerith and she seems to be settling in. I just hope Reno won't bother her too much. She's rather uptight, and he's not fond of women like those." Shera told Cid that night at dinner.

"Aerith?" Cid asked as he started cutting his steak into bite-sized pieces.

"The new tenant, she's between Rufus and Reno." Shera reminded her husband.

"What do you mean, uptight?" Cid wondered.

"She is always very polite, and I don't think she ever uses bad language for starters." Shera explained.

"I could offer to teach her how to swear, if she's going to be Reno's neighbor she'll need it." Cid suggested.

"Oh, you!" Shera exclaimed, and Cid smiled as he ate his favorite dinner.

* * *

As Aerith unrolled her sleeping bag that night after dinner, she wondered about how to cope with her new neighbors. Violence, alcohol, immodesty, cursing, eating meat, and premarital sex were against her beliefs, and she was beginning to wonder if this apartment building was a den of iniquity. The building's name was a total joke so far, she had nothing in common with her neighbors. She prayed to the planet for protection before falling asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

"Why hasn't she called yet?" Ifalna worried as they sat down for lunch.

"She's nineteen now, she's probably busy enjoying her newfound freedom." Gast suggested to his wife. "And it's only been two days."

"Aerith isn't really a free spirit." Ifalna reminded him.

"Maybe she'll learn now that she's out on her own." Gast offered.

They both ate their lunch in silence, knowing that it probably was a false hope. They had spoiled Aerith shamelessly as their firstborn, and Ifalna hadn't known that Aerith would have taken the warnings about proper behavior to go beyond the scope of being careful in regards to their relationship to the planet. As a young girl, Aerith had wanted proper etiquette lessons, which they had been able to afford thanks to Gast being a world famous naturalist, and he got paid plenty to give lectures or teach the occasional class. She had perfect manners by the time she hit puberty, but it set her painfully apart from her classmates at school, so she never really had any friends. Eventually they decided to homeschool her, Ifalna as a teacher having no problem with that. She had tried to get Aerith to relax more, but it was hard with Aerith's unexpected deep stubbornness. The only thing that gave her hope with her daughter's behavior is how she acted while they were gardening. She didn't mind getting dirty that way, and she loved plants and they responded. Ifalna and Gast were happy when she started a flower business, since it meant she would have to constantly interact with many different kinds of people. They managed to hide their disappointment when she made it an internet business, by trying to fix her up with the sons of their friends. Now they just prayed she would somehow be happy.

* * *

"Thank you." Aerith told the men who delivered her new bed and couch as they left. She had almost everything she needed now. Table and chairs were next, but she had to get her flowers set up and growing again first. She hadn't really seen her neighbors in the two days she'd been here, and that suited her fine. She needed to adjust to being in a place surrounded by heathens. She corrected herself, they weren't exactly heathens, but she found their behavior quite troubling. Aerith had just closed her door when she heard a knock on it. Surprised, she opened it and saw Elena standing there, the girl she had hired to deliver her flowers.

"Oh, Elena, I wasn't expecting you until tomorrow." Aerith said, wondering why she was here.

"I just wanted to make sure I could find the place…who is **that**?" Elena pointed and Aerith stepped out to see who she meant.

"Oh, that's Mr. Sinclair." Aerith explained as she saw her neighbor locking his door before heading to the elevator. He was used to women looking at him, and he smiled down at Elena as he passed by them. He barely glanced at Aerith, but she felt like he was trying to undress her when he looked at her as the elevator doors slid closed on him.

"Isn't he handsome?" Elena squealed. "What do you know about him?"

Aerith stared at her long enough for Elena to remember what an annoyingly boring stickler her boss was for proper behavior.

"I only know his name, and I think that's enough." Aerith said. "I appreciate you coming by, Elena, and I'll see you tomorrow."

She was grateful for the dismissal, and Elena hurried towards the stairs, hoping she could catch him in the first floor lobby. She passed another good-looking blond man on the stairs, and wondered how much apartments cost in this building. Cloud reached Aerith's door and knocked on it.

"Elena, I said I'd see you…oh, Cloud! I apologize, I thought you were my employee." Aerith blushed.

"Is that the blonde girl I saw on the stairs? Never mind, I was wondering if you were available this weekend." Cloud wanted to know.

"This weekend?" she repeated, wondering what he had in mind. She hoped he wasn't asking her out, she barely knew him and she couldn't approve of his job, even if she did approve of his law studies, so she would have to turn him down.

"I…I mean we, Tifa and I, with Cid and Shera's permission, would like to throw you a party on Saturday. Kind of a housewarming thing where you can meet the rest of the tenants." Cloud smiled at her hopefully.

"Oh, I think I could attend." Aerith was relieved that it was a party, not a date. "What time and I take it the attire is to be informal?"

Cloud was surprised at her question, looking down at his around the house clothes, but shrugged it off. "Sometime in the afternoon, we'll let you know once everything is organized. And yeah, I guess it's informal. See you then!" Cloud smiled at Aerith, then headed back down the stairs.


	3. Chapter 3

Aerith checked her appearance, hoping she wasn't dressed conspicuously for the party. She didn't have anything quite like what other women her age were wearing, because it was too revealing and improper. Taking a deep breath, she headed down to Cloud and Tifa's apartment.

Tifa was still preparing appetizers when there was a knock on the door. "Would you get that, Cloud?" she asked him. "My hands are dirty." She was glad he didn't object, and she was even gladder he wanted this party because he seemed to have a slight crush on Aerith. If he and Aerith got together, she didn't have to worry about Aerith thinking Rufus was fair game.

"Aerith!" Cloud exclaimed in surprise. "We weren't expecting you yet."

"I'm early? I thought it started at two." Aerith replied in dismay. Arriving too early was bad manners because it made more work for the hosts.

"We were starting preparations at two, the party officially starts at three. But it's no big deal, come on in." Cloud gestured for her to enter their apartment. Once he had her seated on the couch, he went to the kitchen to see if he could help Tifa.

"She looks like she's going to a tea party." Tifa remarked as she nodded at the first appetizer platter for Cloud to put it on the coffee table in the living room.

"What kind of tea will be available?" Aerith asked Cloud as he put the tray down. "I don't drink alcohol."

"Uh, I'm not sure, lemme go find out." Cloud said as he headed back to the kitchen.

"Told ya." Tifa teased him.

"Yeah yeah…do we have any tea?" Cloud asked her.

"I don't have a clue. Check the cupboards." Tifa said as she washed her hands. "Okay, that should be enough food to last them til you get the barbecue going. I'm taking a shower now."

"The barbecue!" Cloud exclaimed, dropping what looked like two boxes of tea onto the floor, then grabbed them off the floor and hurried to the living room. "Will either of these be okay?" he asked Aerith.

She just stared at him strangely for a moment before speaking. "Are you trying to imply something?" Aerith inquired with an edge to her voice.

"Huh?" Cloud was confused, then he looked at the tea boxes, and he felt his face burn when he read that they were herbal teas for alleviating PMS symptoms. "Oh…uh…Tifa must have forgotten she had these. I'm sorry, but that's all we have."

"If that's all you have, either one will do." Aerith relaxed, and Cloud rushed to put the boxes back in the cupboard for the moment, then out onto their patio to start the grill. He hoped the rest of the party went better, he wasn't making the impression on Aerith that he wanted to.

Half an hour later, the guests started to arrive, and Aerith felt totally out of place as she noticed all the women who came were in T-shirts or tank tops and shorts. She realized who Rufus was without being introduced, because Tifa was at his side. He was attractive, but obviously hadn't changed out of his work clothes. He had paint smudges all over his artist's smock, and he smiled when he saw Aerith properly sitting in a chair drinking her tea.

"You didn't tell me she was so wonderfully different." Rufus said to Tifa before leaving her side and approaching Aerith. He sat down in the seat next to her and took her hand when she set her cup down, kissing it. "You are a portrait waiting to be painted. Have you ever considered being an artist's model?" he asked her.

"Excuse me?" Aerith was surprised that someone could be so polite with the hand kiss one moment and a proposition the next.

"One doesn't see women like you around much anymore. I've been looking for a new subject to paint, because I'm tired of using commonplace models. Please say yes." Rufus pleaded.

Aerith saw Tifa glaring in their direction and swallowed hard. "I'm sorry, that is considered vain and immodest, which is against my beliefs."

"Vanity and immodesty are the cornerstones of great works of art. If you change your mind, my door will always be open to you." Rufus kissed Aerith's hand again before going back to Tifa. "Can you take a picture of her when she's taking a sip of tea?" he asked Tifa.

"Why?" she asked in a frosty tone, which Rufus was oblivious to.

"I must paint her!" he passionately exclaimed.

Tifa balled her hand into a fist with one hand, and using her cellphone to take a picture of Aerith with her other. "There." she told him through clenched teeth.

Cloud was unhappy with Rufus' offer to Aerith as well. He was stuck grilling food outside instead of getting to know Aerith better. At least it looked like she turned him down.

"Want me to spell you for a while with the barbecue?" Cid asked, surprising Cloud with his sudden appearance.

"What are you doing here?" Cloud blurted out.

"There's free food, and I'm supposed to make sure no one busts anything I have to repair later." Cid replied, having seen Cloud's frequent glances towards the pretty new girl.

Cloud didn't need to be asked again, and he handed the burger flipper to Cid and went inside to talk with Aerith. As he sat down in the seat Rufus had just vacated, Reno walked in with one of his usual slutty women hanging onto him.

"Where's the beer?" Reno asked Tifa, who was used to him by now, especially because he was her occasional sparring partner when she couldn't make it to her gym.

"In the cooler outside by the grill of course. Nothing like alcohol and open flames for a party." Tifa responded.

"Damned right…this sounds like my kind of party!" Reno smiled at her. He wished she wasn't so deadset on Rufus for her lover, he'd like to try his luck with her. The blonde he had brought to the party started pouting, so Reno continued on outside for the drinks.

"Excuse me." Aerith said to Cloud, standing up and following Reno outside. "Mr. Sinclair, may I have a word with you?"

"Well, it's the guest of honor, so of course you can talk to me. What's on your mind?" Reno asked in a friendly tone, telling his companion to go inside and get some appetizers to eat first.

"I didn't know how thin the walls were in my apartment, so I was wondering if you would mind turning down your music after 10:30 at night. A woman needs her beauty sleep, and…" Aerith didn't get a chance to continue.

"You wouldn't need beauty sleep if you'd hook up with Cloud. He's hot for you and sex is really good for your complexion." Reno interrupted rudely, not liking to be told what to do, and he really didn't give a crap about other people's hygiene and grooming practices. Aerith started blushing and Reno smiled. "See, it's working already. Just talking about sex helps your complexion."

Aerith was speechless and didn't know how to respond except by slapping him, and suddenly everyone was staring at them. "See what you made me do!" Aerith blurted out to Reno upon realizing she had just broken her vow of nonviolence, then ran upstairs to her apartment to pray to the planet for absolution, while Reno just shrugged and finished drinking his beer. A little while later, there was a knock on Aerith's door.

"Who is it?" Aerith asked.

"It's me." Cloud said. "Please come back to the party, Reno isn't there anymore."

Aerith tried to figure out if she should or not. Reno's comments about Cloud's feelings for her made her uncomfortable with him, but they did put on the welcoming party for her, and it was bad form for the guest of honor to be absent, so she followed Cloud back to his and Tifa's apartment. Once there, she spotted a man on the couch who looked similar to Cloud, but he had dark hair. "Who is that?" she asked Cloud.

"Zack Fair. He lives next door to us. A real loner." Cloud informed her reluctantly.

Aerith knew what it was like to be a loner, so she decided to go introduce herself to Zack, ignoring Cloud's warnings. "Hello, I'm Aerith Faremis." she said as she approached him.

"Have you tried the new Xantria game?" he asked her.

"I'm not sure what that is, I don't play video games." Aerith replied.

Zack grabbed her arm and pulled her down to the couch next to him. "See?" he said, bringing the game's trailer up on his tablet. "I tested this game five times until they fixed all the bugs." he told Aerith proudly.

Aerith was shocked at the video and made her excuses to Zack, hurrying back to Cloud's side. "I'm sorry about that, I tried to warn you. He's big on video games that are basically just snuff films that you can play. That's his job, he tests the ones no one else wants to touch." Cloud told her.

Aerith didn't know what a snuff film was, and she didn't want to ask. She shuddered at those images. How could people think that was appropriate for anything but the pit of a volcano? She tried to be polite to anyone who talked to her, but she felt dirty now, and was glad when she was able to leave without causing offense. Back at her apartment, Aerith took a long bubble bath and drank three cups of cocoa to relax her enough to sleep, and she fell asleep an hour earlier than usual.

"What are you going to do to me?" The words echoed in Aerith's head, waking her up from the beginning of a nightmare about that Xantria game. She shivered, trying to calm herself down.

"I'm gonna hammer you through the floor, that's what!" Aerith recognized the voice as Reno's, and then she heard a woman squealing, the volume getting louder and louder.

Terrified, Aerith hurried and got her phone, dialing the emergency number. "My neighbor is trying to kill a woman!" she whispered fiercely into the phone. "The Midgar Commons apartments, number 3b. Please hurry!"

Aerith was relieved to finally hear sirens, hopefully they would be able to save the woman. She had been squealing for so long, and Aerith heard Reno saying things that didn't make sense to her. She heard the police pound on his door a couple minutes later.

"Police! Open up!" They loudly demanded.

"What the hell?!" Aerith heard Reno say as he stomped to his door, and then was slammed against the hallway wall.

Feeling safe now, Aerith opened the door to her apartment and came out into the hallway to see one of the cops handcuff Reno as the other entered his apartment. Tifa and Rufus came out of his apartment, and Cloud came up the stairs just in front of Cid and Shera.

"What's going on here?" Cid and Shera asked together as the other cop came out of Reno's apartment laughing.

"Let him go, Rude." the cop stopped laughing long enough to say.

"What's the matter, Vincent?" Rude asked. "Is she still alive?"

"Yes and she's very irate and unfulfilled, demanding we let him go to finish what he started." Vincent explained, starting to laugh again.

"The woman is alright?" Aerith asked Rude and Vincent.

"You!" The single word burst angrily out of Reno.

Tifa hurriedly got out her cellphone and started taking pictures, but it was hard for her to keep the phone straight with her sides quaking. She wasn't the only one trying to get a straight face as Reno stood there in nothing but handcuffs and his boxer shorts, with plenty of love marks on him and some marks on his back as well, his face almost turning purple in outrage at Aerith, who just stood there not understanding any of it.

"You made the emergency call?" Vincent inquired of Aerith, and she hesitantly told her side of it, leaving out the part about her nightmare.

"Who's calling this one in?" Vincent asked his partner after he wrote down Aerith's statement.

"I'll do it." Rude said as he took the handcuffs off Reno and apologized to him, then Vincent and Rude started walking downstairs.

"Just wait til I get home and tell Lucrecia that I got called out on a possible murder in progress that was nothing but loud sex." Vincent said before he and Rude were out of earshot.

"They were just having sex?" Aerith asked the crowd as Reno gave her a dirty look before going back into his apartment and slamming the door. Her face started turning red as no one answered, just looked at each other with amused expressions.

"I'll explain Reno to her." Shera told her husband, and she gently took Aerith back into her apartment.

"Okay everyone, show's over, back to your apartments." Cid told the crowd, then got into the elevator to go back to his place. "It's a shame this didn't happen during the party, would have made it a real one to have the cops called." he mused to himself as the elevator car took him down to the basement.


	4. Chapter 4

"The best thing to do is just ignore him." Shera concluded her list of Reno's _quirks_ as they both heard him and the woman start up again. "We didn't tell you what kind of a neighbor he is because we really wanted that apartment rented. Don't be surprised if he brings a woman over every night now. Like I said, just ignore him. He won't bother you if he can't get a rise out of you." Shera got up off the couch and patted Aerith on the shoulder. "Good night, and it wouldn't hurt to get some earplugs." she said as Reno's woman got even louder, then Shera left.

Aerith picked up the phone and dialed her parents' number. "Mom? Could I come home for the rest of the weekend? I know it's late, but…thank you, Mom, I'll be there in about half an hour."

Aerith was pleased to find her bedroom at home untouched, and hurriedly curled up with the stuffed red animal she got when she was five, sleeping better with the familiar sounds of nothing but overnight trips to the bathroom.

"Were you that homesick, Aerith?" Ifalna asked her daughter the next morning at breakfast. "What are the other tenants like?"

Aerith blushed before answering. "There's two college students, an artist, a video game tester, a couple who run the building, and that's who I've met so far." She was going to take Shera's advice to heart and pretend that Reno didn't exist.

Monday morning after breakfast, Aerith went back to Midgar Commons. When she reached her apartment door, she stiffened as she saw Reno's door open, and then her jaw dropped when Elena came out, looking very happy as she turned around to face Reno's apartment.

"Will I see you…Boss!" Elena squeaked out when she caught sight of Aerith in her peripheral vision.

Reno stuck his head out and caught sight of Aerith staring at them. Smiling wickedly, he stepped out and took Elena in his arms, kissing her passionately while he fondled her. "I'll call you." he told Elena as he released her abruptly, going back into his apartment and closing the door.

"Will you need me for deliveries today, Miss Faremis?" Elena walked over to her boss, trying unsuccessfully to pretend she was there for work.

"What were you doing with that man?" Aerith asked her icily.

"I came over yesterday, but you weren't here, and Reno told me that he never got a response from you on his housewarming invitation, and wanted to know if I'd accept in your place." Elena smiled as she looked towards Reno's door. "And you did tell me once that it's really bad form to never respond either way to an invitation, so I accepted to make sure he wasn't offended."

Aerith frowned. "I'll need you for deliveries tomorrow. I'll see you at 10am sharp tomorrow morning." She unlocked her door and went in, hurrying to check her plants. The events of the party's aftermath had totally erased their care from her mind. Hurrying around her apartment, she opened the blinds and curtains to let in light and watered her exotic flowers. "I'm sorry, my little ones." she said during her guilt-ridden pampering of them. "I didn't mean to neglect you, you're my only real friends I can count on."

A knock on the door interrupted her, and she made a note to ask for a peephole in the door. "Who is it?"

"It's me." Cloud said. "Can I come in?"

Aerith reluctantly opened the door. "How can I help you?"

"I just wanted to see if you were okay, we couldn't get a hold of you yesterday." Cloud explained.

Touched by the thought that maybe the plants weren't her only friends, she invited Cloud in for some tea.

"You were gone for a while, what happened to you?" Tifa asked Cloud when he came back to their apartment.

"Aerith invited me in for tea." Cloud was smiling.

Tifa frowned. She didn't mind Cloud having a thing for Aerith, since she had no claim on her childhood friend, it was Rufus getting all hot and bothered about Miss Prude as a new 'painting subject' that she found extremely upsetting. "Why don't you ask her marry you?" Tifa asked. If Aerith lost her halo and wings, maybe Rufus would forget about her.

"She wouldn't accept yet, because we haven't know each other long enough. She'd be the perfect wife for a future successful lawyer always in the public eye though. No one could ever make her seem to be anything but perfectly proper." Cloud replied.

"Don't wear out your wrist dreaming about your future." Tifa snapped as stormed into her bedroom and slammed the door, unable to tolerate another man telling her how perfect Aerith was.

Cloud stared at Tifa's closed door in confusion, then shrugged and sat down to watch the legal channel on television. He noticed Aerith didn't have a television, just a lot of plants, and he hoped he could invite her over to watch court cases to see if she found it interesting or boring.

Reno woke up when his alarm clock went of and smelled something funny, and after getting out of bed and checking his apartment, he realized it was him, so he grabbed his hamper and headed down to the laundromat in the basement. Aerith was doing laundry as well, and he decided he was just going to have one of _those_ days. He didn't have time for a stuck-up prude at the moment, so he decided to ignore her. Reno started emptying his hamper into the washing machine. Once he had almost a full load, he took off the clothes he was wearing, except for his briefs, shoving them down in the washing machine. His boxer shorts also needed to be washed.

Aerith shrieked when she saw Reno start undressing. "What are you doing?" she cried out.

"I'm not advertising for you, so just relax. As if you know how." Reno grabbed the laundry soap that Cid and Shera kept for him in the cupboard and dumped some in and started his first load of clothes, then sat down in one of the chairs. He put his feet up on his washing machine, and grabbed one of the magazines also left there for the tenants to read.

"It's not proper for a man to undress in front of a lady." Aerith managed to get out eventually, stuttering her first few attempts.

"Spare me, especially when your damned virgin eyes have already seen all this…you know, the night **you called the cops on me**!" Reno countered as he idly flipped through pages of the magazine.

Aerith felt her face turning red, and she grabbed something out of her laundry basket, throwing it at him before she knew what she was doing. "It wouldn't have happened if you weren't such a fucking pervert!" She shrieked again in dismay as she realized she had used a bad word, clapping her hand over her mouth.

Reno stood up and took the lacy white panties off his head, examining them. "Not bad…have you showed Cloud these yet? I guarantee you'll know what a fucking pervert is then."

"You're an asshole!" Aerith blurted out, her facing turning red as she cursed again. She hurriedly stuffed her clean laundry into her basket and was about to leave to get away from him when a pair of pink panties landed in her basket.

"Those are considered more in style than your white ones." Reno smirked at her. "And I love it when women talk dirty to me."

Aerith was about to throw them back at Reno when Cloud walked in. "I hate you!" she screamed at Reno before rushing to the elevator, leaving Cloud staring after her.

"What did you do?" Cloud glared accusingly at Reno.

"Me? I just tried to give her some fashion tips. Women!" Reno innocently shrugged and sat back down in his chair, grabbing a different magazine as he wondered why he had never met a prude before that was ugly. Maybe the attractive ones know they can get away with it, he mused.


	5. Chapter 5

"Here are all the payments, boss." Elena handed Aerith a fat envelope filled with cash and money orders, since Aerith refused to accept checks.

"Thank you Elena, wait just a moment and I'll pay you." Aerith took the envelope into her apartment and closed the door, counting out what she owed Elena from the cash in the envelope, and writing it down in her ledger. Opening her door again, she handed Elena the money. "Here's your weekly wages, Elena. I'll see you on Monday." Aerith smiled at her as she closed her door.

Elena thanked her, frowning as Reno got off the elevator with some cheap floozy. He barely acknowledged her as he took the woman into his apartment. Pissed off, she decided to take the stairs and ran into Cloud.

"Where's the fire?" Cloud asked. "Oh, you're the girl who works for Aerith, aren't you? Nice to meet you."

"I'm not a girl, my name's Elena." she snapped as she continued hurrying down the stairs.

Cloud recognized the behavior as a woman who had just found out she had been replaced in Reno's bed, and put her out of his mind, continuing on to Aerith's apartment, knocking on her door. "Aerith, would you like to go out for lunch?" he called through the door.

Aerith was adding up the payments and double-checking them with what she was owed for her flowers when Cloud made his invitation. "Just a moment, please." she replied, gathering the remaining cash and checks back into the envelope, stuffing it into her purse before opening her door. "Lunch sounds wonderful, I accept your invitation. Can we stop at the bank first?" she asked Cloud as she took the arm he offered her.

Reno gently laid the woman Elena had mistaken for a floozy down on his bed and sighed. This was the downside of being a freelance bodyguard to the elite, sometimes they were stupid as hell and he had his work cut out for him.

"I'm going to die!" she exclaimed, grabbing her head.

"No, you're just hungover. Let me get you some aspirin." Reno went to his bathroom and couldn't find any, and realized he was out of cash to go buy more.

"How'd you find me? And how come you didn't take me to the hospital?" she continued complaining.

"Just because you're the daughter of Godo Kisaragi doesn't mean you have the experience to hide your tracks. And _Dominique'_ s was the closest bar." Reno explained. He was always wary when her father came to Midgar on political business, because he was the only bodyguard who seemed to have any luck guarding Yuffie with her rebellious teenage ways.

"That's right, I'm Yuffie Kisaragi, Ambassador Kisaragi, or I will be when I'm older. And I can kick your ass anytime!" Yuffie tried to stand up on his bed, but ended up falling back down, and passed out when she landed.

Reno prodded her, but she was down for the count, and he breathed a huge sigh of relief. He took her fake IDs out of her pocket and cut them up, throwing them in the trash afterwards. He needed to get to the bank and get some money, but he couldn't leave Yuffie here. Thinking for a few, he picked her up and took her down to his car, strapping her in the passenger seat before driving them to the bank. When he found a parking spot near it, he got the wheelchair out of his trunk that he kept there for his handicapped clients. Once he had Yuffie secure in the wheelchair, he pushed her into the Midgar First National Bank.

Aerith was filling out the deposit slip when she saw Reno wheel a young woman is. Surprised, she filled the rest of the slip out wrong, not noticing in her distracted state. Cloud was across the street waiting for a table at the café they were going to have lunch at, and she couldn't wait to tell him that in six months she'd have enough for a down payment to buy her own house. Then she could get away from Reno and his inappropriate behavior. The last three months had been such a trial to her.

"I can help the next customer." a teller announced, and Aerith hurried over to her.

"I'd like to make a deposit." Aerith said, handing her the deposit slip and the envelope of cash and money orders.

Glancing at the slip, the teller got a funny expression on her face and then started staring at Aerith. "Is this a joke or a threat?"

"Excuse me?" Aerith asked in confusion, then she looked at the deposit slip which the teller had put down on the counter. Aerith blushed when she saw that she had wrote _The Jerk Is Here_ where she was supposed to write her account number. Before she could explain what happened, four armed people entered the bank and two of them started shooting, hitting the two security guards and the cameras, then when they saw a teller with their hand under the counter, they shot her too. The other two started closing the curtains and locking the door.

"Anyone stupid enough to not realize this is a robbery, please raise your hand so you can join the security guards." One of the robbers loudly exclaimed, and their voice sounded like a woman. "Good, because I can't tolerate stupid people. Everyone lay down on the floor out here."

Aerith laid down on the floor, having trouble stopping herself from shaking. The other customers and employees joined her on the floor, then one of the robbers started taking money from the teller stations, while another started working on the vault door. The other two robbers guarded their hostages.

"Excuse me, am I supposed to put my cousin down on the floor too?" Reno asked in a voice Aerith never heard before. He sounded almost stupid.

One of the robbers came over and examined Yuffie. "She's clean." the robber said after finding no weapons. "You can leave her there. But you get your dumb ass on the floor."

Reno complied, wondering how he was going to get Yuffie and himself out of this safely. These robbers were obviously professional, and that meant they had an escape plan. A disabled woman like they took Yuffie to be would be the best hostage to ensure their escape isn't hampered. He hoped she didn't wake up before this was over, if they knew her political position, she'd be an even better hostage. He could have disarmed the robber that checked out Yuffie, but he wouldn't have been able to take out the other three before he was hit, they were too spread out.

"A red bag will be handed to you to put all your jewelry and watches in." The female robber said. "The blue bag is for your cellphones. They will be returned to you when we're done."

"Please don't hurt me!" Aerith exclaimed as she put her valuables in the bag.

Reno's head shot up as he recognized her voice. He barely suppressed his groan as he spotted her. She was clueless enough to get herself hurt, and even though she didn't matter to him, he wasn't going to let someone he knew get hurt.

"So, just do what we tell you, sweetie, and you'll be fine." the female robber told Aerith callously.

An idea occurred to Reno, and he instantly put it into action. "Please hurt her!" he blurted out loudly.

"What did you just say?" the female robber asked Reno. "Who are you to be giving orders to us?"

"I'm that bitch's ex-husband. Or I would be, if she'd give me a divorce. I lied, this isn't my cousin, she's my true love." Reno patted Yuffie's leg. "Once she's no longer comatose, I want to marry her. I'd marry her even if she never wakes up. I'd rather be married to a comatose woman than that nag. If something happens to her in a bank robbery, I can finally marry the woman I love."

"You…you **bastard**!" Aerith screamed at him. "I know we haven't gotten along lately, but this…" She got too choked up on fear and anger to continue.

Reno walked over to her, while the two robbers kept their weapons trained on him. He picked Aerith up off the floor and gently shook her. "You've just got to accept that it's over between us!"

"You're…you're mad!" Aerith exclaimed, totally confused and frightened. "Please stop lying!"

"I'll prove it to you that I don't love you anymore!" Reno loudly told her. "Play along." he whispered quickly to Aerith as he bent his head down and kissed her.


	6. Chapter 6

Ifalna was doing one of her regular checks of the plants she had attuned to her children's well-being when they were babies, and noticed Aerith's plant showed signs of extreme distress. Hurrying to her altar, Ifalna prayed to the planet to protect her daughter.

When their lips touched, Reno and Aerith were so stunned at the contact shock they both felt that they didn't notice the ground start to rumble at first.

"Well, it looks like maybe you still love her." the female robber said casually as she watched them respond to each other.

Reno abruptly let go of Aerith when he heard that. "What? No, I don't love her. I love my fiancée!" He had to struggle to remember what his plan was, he hadn't had a reaction to a woman like that in a long time.

Aerith had trouble remaining standing when Reno let go of her, shocked by the kiss and the unfamiliar reactions her body had. She was the first to realize her balance problems were caused by something else. "The ground is shaking!"

The female robber was noticing the problem as well when things started falling off the walls. "Dammit! Hojo, forget the vault! Tseng, are you done with the teller stations? That'll have to be it for today. We've got to get out of here before the earthquake traps us in or worse! Shalua, grab the red bag!"

"Thanks for telling everyone our names, _Scarlet_!" Hojo snapped as he took some of the money bags from Tseng. "Front door or fire exit?"

"Fire exit! Now who's being stupid? Unless you think it's smart to go out the front door with stolen goods where everyone can see you!" Scarlet retorted. "Have a good day, folks!" she said as they made their escape.

The earthquake lasted less than a minute, but it seemed longer to those inside the bank. Reno had hurried back over to the wheelchair to protect Yuffie, while Aerith tried to find something to grab onto. The lights flickered and car alarms went off outside. The earth gave one last tremendous heave, knocking Aerith to the ground as well as some of the bank's furniture, and then it was all over. Aerith lifted her head up and saw Reno checking the security guards and then the teller who had been shot. The employees and customers carefully got up and one of the employees unlocked the front door as the bank manager started calling the cops to report the robbery.

When the police started taking statements, Reno had a quiet word with the lead officer, showing him his high level security clearance and explaining that his client was political and he needed to get her back where she belonged. The officer reluctantly agreed, taking down Reno's contact information first.

"That's her! She's one of them!" the teller who had been waiting on Aerith exclaimed, pointing at her as Reno started to put Yuffie back in his car.

The cops surrounded an Aerith who was trembling in Cloud's arms after her scare. "What do you mean she's one of them?" the lead officer asked the teller.

"She wrote _The Jerk Is Here_ on her deposit slip! That must be who the robbers were, The Jerks!" the teller blurted out.

Reno smiled as he got into the driver's seat of his car to take Yuffie back to the Wutaian embassy. Aerith getting accused of bank robbery felt like karma for her calling the cops on him, so he could let it go now. And anyone with half a brain could figure out that Aerith would never even so much as sneeze the wrong way, let alone break the law.

That night, Aerith was terribly exhausted as she crawled into bed. She had been cleared of any involvement in the bank robbery, thanks to the obvious intellect capabilities of the teller and Cloud's legal knowledge. When she finally got home, her phone was ringing and her mother demanded to know what was going on as soon as Aerith answered the phone. Now she could finally rest and put this day behind her. She was grateful Cloud hadn't heard that Reno had kissed her, but she would have to tell him eventually. It felt like cheating to her. She had just closed her eyes when she heard Reno with another one of his women. Grabbing the earplugs she kept on her nightstand, she shoved them in her ears so she could sleep in peace. She didn't need to hear him having sex, not after that kiss.

It had been a week since the bank robbery, and Aerith couldn't take it anymore. Reno hadn't bothered her since that day, in fact, she hardly saw him at all. But she had to ask him about the kiss before she told Cloud, so she could explain why Reno did it, because she still hadn't been able to figure out what he had been thinking. She had decided to stay up all night if needed to confront him, but she didn't have to wait that long, she heard him start to unlock his door at her usual bedtime.

"Reno!" Aerith exclaimed as she opened her door.

"Yeah, what is it? You're not the only one who needs beauty sleep." Reno said.

"Would you please come inside for a few minutes?" she asked him.

"If it's just for a few minutes, fine." Reno was surprised at the invitation, but he had nothing better to do. Walking into her apartment, her flowers growing everywhere and he found the exotically scented air they created a bit overwhelming. "I didn't know you lived in a greenhouse." he commented.

"I like plants." Aerith explained. "Would you like some tea?"

"Only if it comes from Long Island." Reno replied. "So what did you want?"

Aerith wasn't sure what was the proper way to phrase her question, so she just blurted it out. "Why did you kiss me?"

"That's all you wanted to ask me?" Reno wasn't feigning surprise, but he was rather upset at being asked that, because for the life of him, he hadn't been able to remember what his plan was, only that he had one.

"Yes. It was very inappropriate and your cruelty before it was…" Aerith started to say.

"Cruelty? Lady, I was trying to save your sorry life!" Reno snapped.

"My sorry life? What do you mean by **that**?" Aerith felt herself getting angry as well.

"I mean you are the most clueless woman I've ever met!" Reno suddenly decided to leave before things got nastier. "Go get your beauty sleep that you need so much!" he said as he headed for the door.

"Don't you walk away from me yet!" Aerith blocked his path and shoved her finger in his face. "You owe me some answers!"

"I don't owe you a damned thing. And keep your fucking finger outta my face!" Reno warned her.

"Why are you such an **asshole**?!" Aerith demanded to know, not only mad at Reno, but herself for swearing again.

"I'm only an asshole to stuck-up prudes with no sense of fun." he countered.

"Just because I'm not like the women you associate with doesn't mean I don't know how to have fun!" she protested, putting her hands on her hips.

"You're not like normal people at all!" he said with disgust.

"You…you…" Aerith was getting so mad she felt herself stuttering and Reno smirking at her loss of poise further pissed her off. "I'll show you what I'm like!"

Before she knew what she was doing, Aerith had grabbed Reno's shirt and pulled him down to her and kissed him. They both felt the same powerful reaction they had during the bank robbery, and Aerith was naked in her bed watching Reno take his pants off before she had a moment to realize what was happening.

"Now I'll show you what I'm like." Reno said as he joined her in bed.

"We're…we're not married." Aerith tried to refuse his advances as he started her body feeling things it never had before.

"No big deal, I'm licensed to perform weddings. Some of my clients want to elope and it's better for their security if I just do it myself." he explained as his hands started exploring her body.

"What?" she was having trouble concentrating on anything but what he was doing to her.

"Do you take me to be your lawfully wedded husband?" Reno asked Aerith before he moved his lips down to her breasts.

Aerith paused for a moment to consider the absurdity of this all, until Reno slipped his hand between her legs. "I do." she moaned, grabbing at him.

"And I'll most definitely take you as my lawfully wedded wife. I will now violate the bride." Reno announced.

Aerith felt some slight pain as he thrust into her, but it was brief, and it was followed by extreme pleasure. She felt her consciousness expanding as it joined with Reno and took them both floating through the heavens. An extremely loud thunderclap right overhead brought them back down to earth as they were crying out in the throes of their orgasms. A severe thunderstorm had broken over their apartment building right after they kissed.

"We'll rest a little now, then I'll teach you to ride me." Reno panted as he collapsed onto her. "For a virgin, you sure know how to drain a man."

Aerith suddenly became aware of others nearby, and turned to see her parents standing in her bedroom doorway. Her eyes widened in shock just like their visitors, and she struggled to think of what to say. "Mom! Dad! Uh…I'd like you to meet my husband, Reno." she told them in a slightly strained and squeaky voice as her cheeks burned.

Reno turned his head, registering their audience by covering himself and Aerith with the quilt, since he wasn't into being a part of someone else's peep show. "I'm very glad to have had the pleasure of your daughter." Reno said as he placed his head comfortably between his new wife's breasts and moments later everyone heard him snoring.


	7. Chapter 7

Ifalna and Gast stood there in shock at the sight of their newly deflowered daughter with the scruffy and crass stranger she introduced as her husband. Ifalna had noticed an unnatural change in the weather and upon seeing the storm over her daughter's apartment building, she had rushed over with Gast to check on Aerith, arriving just in time to hear him tell their daughter what he was going to do to her next. Ifalna noticed the mark on Reno's neck and took a deep breath. "I think we'll come back in the morning and talk about this then." she said in an unarguable tone, giving her daughter a very displeased glance before she and Gast left just as Cloud rushed in.

"Aerith! Are you okay? I heard your cries…" Cloud came to a dead stop as he saw Reno snoring on top of Aerith, and his jaw dropped. "Well, I guess you're alright after all." He snapped his mouth shut with that hurt observation and stormed out, slamming the door shut on his way.

Aerith wanted to chase after Cloud, but Reno was dead weight and she wasn't even sure what she would say to him, but the betrayed looked in his eyes hurt her. She didn't want to tell Cloud it wasn't what he thought, because it was actually worse. If Reno had been telling the truth, she was now a married woman. If not, she was now 'damaged goods', and Cloud probably wouldn't be interested in her anyway. Unable to get her brain to think of a solution while her body was still reacting pleasantly to Reno's nearness, Aerith sighed and let herself eventually be lulled to sleep by her new husband's snoring.

"Wakey, wakey, wife." Reno said right in Aerith's ear.

"Wha…what's going on? Who's here now?" she asked as she woke up disoriented.

"Just us here. But the wedding night isn't over yet." A perfectly devilish smile spread over Reno's face.

"Where are we?" Aerith realized it wasn't her bedroom anymore.

"Your bed's too damned small, we're at my place." Reno explained. "Now you get to be a cowgirl."

"Cowgirl?" she repeated.

"Yeah, but this will be a little different than riding a chocobo though." Reno told Aerith as he positioned her on top of him. This was working out to be a very enjoyable wedding night, Reno thought, as he guided her movements until she understood how to do it. For such a Miss Prude, Aerith sure was quick to figure sex out. So far he was perfectly happy with his married life.

Aerith woke up first the next morning, and she wanted to go back to her apartment, but part of her didn't want to leave Reno's side…it felt too right to be with him, and that startled her enough to find the willpower to get out of bed and sneak back to her place. She felt ridiculous sneaking around from her husband's room to hers, but it couldn't be helped. She gasped when she opened her door and saw her precious flowers. They had tripled in size overnight, and the perfumed air was now overwhelming and it was hard not to choke.

Aerith took a deep breath and ran into her apartment to open up all the outside windows and the sliding balcony door, taking care to hide her naked body with the curtains. Once that was done, she got dressed and picked up her phone to call her parents. Aerith sighed heavily as the answering machine picked up. "Mom, Dad, it's me, if you're home…"

"We're not home, we're right here." Ifalna said, standing in the front doorway because Aerith had forgotten to close the door when she saw her plants' extreme growth. "I need to talk to you alone. Where is your… _husband_?" her mother asked her.

"Probably still asleep next door in his apartment." Aerith replied, and Gast left to go have his own private talk with his new son-in-law, closing the door behind him.

Aerith faced her mother nervously, not sure what was going to happen, but she definitely didn't expect her mother's joyful reaction.

"First things first…I'm so happy you found your lifemate!" Ifalna exclaimed as she hugged her daughter.

"Lifemate?" Aerith repeated, confused when she didn't get the tongue-lashing she expected.

"Feel the back of your neck." Ifalna told her, and Aerith complied.

"What is that?" Aerith asked upon feeling some kind of raised mark there.

"You and your husband both have that mark on your necks. I saw his last night. I never told you because I didn't think it would happen to you for a while yet, but when we, the Cetra that is, find our lifemate, both people are marked with the same symbol. No one knows why, it's just always been that way." Ifalna explained as she sat down at Aerith's kitchen table.

"But Reno is such a….he's always…I don't…how can he **possibly** be right for me?!" Aerith demanded to know, plopping down in shock in the nearest chair at her table.

"You two will have to figure that out for yourselves." Ifalna replied. "But I did notice you and your husband obviously enjoyed each other's company very well." she said, looking around at the overgrown flowers as Gast and Reno walked back in. "I'll talk to you more later about how to avoid your connection to the planet acting up during sex." Ifalna whispered to her daughter.

Aerith blushed as Reno sat down at her table and crossed his arms on top of it, laying his head down on top of them, winking at her before he closed his eyes.

"Good news." Gast said. "They were technically married last night, but the paperwork hasn't been filed yet, so we could do a real wedding and file the paperwork with the city after that. Or just file the paperwork now and then they get the marriage annulled or get a divorce."

"Of course we'll have a real wedding!" Ifalna retorted, then looked at her daughter and son-in-law. "I mean, if that's what Aerith and Reno want."

"I don't care as long as I can go back to sleep with my wife soon." Reno mumbled.

"Why don't we give the newlyweds some privacy to talk this over?" Gast suggested, and Ifalna reluctantly agreed.

"You want to stay married to me?" Aerith asked Reno when they were alone again. The last twenty-four hours had turned her entire world upside down, and she felt like an idiot having to keep asking questions of everyone, but she was trying to regain her equilibrium.

"Gotta bite the bullet sometime." Reno answered her. "I'm not gonna get anymore sleep til tonight, am I?" He sighed and sat up. "If that's the case, I'm going back to my place for some coffee."

Aerith watched him leave, and then moments later she followed him, trying to see if she could spot the mark on his neck that her mother mentioned. Closing the door to his apartment, she wrinkled her nose at the smell of strong coffee brewing.

"If we stay married, at least you'll never steal my coffee and I won't steal your tea." Reno remarked as he saw her wrinkle her nose.

"If we do, where would we live? These apartments aren't that big." Aerith wondered aloud.

"We could live on the top floor. We'd have the whole place to ourselves, no one else lives there. And you could grow your plants on the rooftop." Reno offered.

"Would Cid and Shera let us do that?" Aerith thought about how she could grow so many more flowers if she had the rooftop all to herself for that.

"They're just the managers, it's ultimately up to the landlord." Reno reminded her as he poured himself a cup of coffee.

"How do I get in touch with the landlord?" she asked. "I haven't heard anything about them."

"You marry them." Reno admitted.

"Marry them? What is that supp…. **YOU**!?" Aerith was stunned.

"Keep it down please, I don't want anyone to know. That's why Cid and Shera are the managers, I can trust their discretion. My grandfather left me this building in his will, but I had to marry within five years of his death or it would go to a distant cousin."

"When did he die?" she wanted to know.

"Four years and ten months ago." Reno informed her.

"Is that why you wanted to marry me?" Aerith felt herself getting mad at the thought of being used.

"No. I don't want to lose the building, but that's not why I married you." Reno replied.

"Then why?" Aerith questioned him.

"Now that the coffee's working, I feel up to showing you again." Reno smirked as he quickly grabbed her up into his arms before she knew what happened.

Aerith didn't protest, not only because Reno's mouth was covering hers, but she was feeling for the mark on his neck. "Does it have to be a big wedding for you to keep this building?" she asked when she felt it.

"Nah, only the estate lawyer needs to be there. And I don't want my family there either." Reno explained. "But wedding talk kills the mood, can we talk about it later?"


	8. Chapter 8

As she waited for the cue to start walking down the wedding aisle, Aerith kept expecting to wake up from this strange dream at any moment. The last week had been a whirlwind; getting a wedding, even a small one with only around twenty guests, put together at a moment's notice, was just total chaos. Reno refused to have anything to do with the planning, telling her repeatedly that he'll show up when he had to, but that was going to be his only contribution, besides okaying the wedding taking place on the rooftop of _his_ apartment building.

Aerith heard the music start and took a deep breath as Shera preceded her down the aisle in her role as Matron of Honor. Cid was standing next to Reno as the Best Man. The only other attendees were Aerith's immediate and extended family, and the lawyer handling the estate of Reno's grandfather. Aerith was stunned when she saw Reno standing there waiting for her. In a tuxedo and looking very clean and proper, he looked almost like a different person, a very attractive one at that. He seemed rather bored though, and Aerith heard him breath a sigh of relief when she reached him and the crux of the ceremony started.

"Do you, Reno Sinclair, take this woman Aerith Faremis as your lawfully wedded wife, staying faithf…" the wedding official started to say.

Reno lost track of what the man was saying as he looked Aerith over. He had seen her naked, and in her usual stuffy clothes, but she looked different today. He knew she was attractive, but the wedding dress made her figure seem even better. Cid suddenly nudged him and he realized everyone was staring at him, waiting for him to agree to his wedding vows. "Yeah, sure, I do." he said, trying to get a hold of himself.

"Do you, Aerith Faremis, take this man, Reno Sinclair, to be your lawfully wedded husband, always…" the official went through Aerith's wedding vows, but she was distracted as well by what seemed to be Reno staring hard at her. She was already blushing since she didn't feel quite right in the wedding dress the women in her family had worn for generations, the cleavage alone was more revealing than she preferred, and it made her blush even more to see her husband focus on it. Aerith took a deep breath as everyone started looking at her.

"I do take Reno Sinclair as my husband." Aerith stated firmly.

"Who has the rings?" the official asked.

"I do!" Aerith's youngest brother Evan blurted out, walking forward with the wedding rings in an elaborately carved wooden box.

The official instructed them to take each other's ring from the box. "As you place the ring on each other's finger, repeat after me: This ring is a symbol of my commitment to honor our wedding vows by honoring you."

Aerith gasped when she saw the ring up close, the sapphires and pearls beautifully complementing each other. "I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride." the official announced after the rings were put on.

Reno stepped forward and lifted the veil, relieved to see his blushing bride. For a few moments, he thought that maybe he was having a sham wedding to the wrong person, and he wasn't going to be trussed up like this again. But he had never met a woman who blushed as much as she did. Smirking at the thought of reliving their wedding night, he kissed her just like he had during the bank robbery, and everyone gasped, more for the sudden appearance of some lifestream 'ribbons' forming hearts around the newlyweds, than for the passionate kiss and groping performed by the oblivious couple.

"I now present you Mr. and Mrs. Reno Sinclair." The wedding official managed to say after clearing their throat to unsuccessfully get Reno and Aerith's attention. Aerith remembered their audience first, and her face got even redder as she reluctantly separated from her husband.

"Yeah, you all heard it, this firm ass is now mine, at least til gravity do us part!" Reno loudly exclaimed as he took Aerith's hand, unaware that all the adults were laughing because Reno's face was as red as his wife's after that intimate kiss.

A fleeting look of anger passed over Aerith's face, disappearing when she sighed and tightened her hand in Reno's as they hurried down the aisle to flower petals and rice thrown at them. The elevator took them to the first floor lobby where a limousine was waiting to whisk them off to their honeymoon. The reception was scheduled for a month hence, to allow time for travel plans to be made and gifts to be bought.

"Where are we going on our honeymoon?" she asked Reno as the chauffeur opened the door for them.

"This probably says." Reno saw a card on the limo seat, starting to tear it open while Aerith tried to sit comfortably in her wedding dress. "Our dear son…oh please…, we were overjoyed to hear of your pending nuptials, but unfortunately we did not receive our invitations in time. We hope you will enjoy your honeymoon at the wonderful Avalanche Inn."

" _The_ Avalanche Inn?" Aerith was stunned as the limousine started towards the airport. "That's the poshest winter resort in all of Gaia! What kind of a family do you come from?"

"A family that considers me the black sheep of the family. They miss me as much as I miss them." Reno admitted in a tone that implied the topic was closed.

Aerith stared at her new husband. She understood wanting to live your own life, that's why she ended up in the apartment next to him, but shutting your family entirely out of your life was foreign to her. Her mother was taking care of her flower business while she was on her honeymoon.

"I packed for a tropical destination." Aerith confided to Reno as they boarded their plane taking them to Icicle.

"I don't like winter places either." Reno replied, misunderstanding her concern, thinking of how he was deprived of seeing bikini-clad beauties everywhere he looked. Then he remembered he was supposed to be on his honeymoon, so he shrugged and put an arm around his wife. "Would you model your swimsuits for me?" he asked her in a low voice as they found their seats, smiling as she blushed. Maybe he could have a decent vaca…honeymoon after all.


	9. Chapter 9

"Do whatever the hell you want, I don't care." Cloud snapped.

Tifa was getting fed up with Cloud's attitude, he had been this way ever since he caught Aerith in bed with Reno. She couldn't even ask him what he wanted for dinner like she just did, without him getting upset. "Whatever the hell I want is you to quit being an ass!" Tifa retorted. "So what if Aerith is now Reno's wife? Become a divorce lawyer instead of a corporate one, and when they split up, you can represent her."

Cloud was surprised at her outburst, then her words got through to him. Aerith didn't seem like the type to put up with a man like Reno for long, maybe Tifa had the right idea…

Aerith forgot all her proper manners when the limousine pulled in front of the world-famous Avalanche Inn. She felt like she had entered another world as she took in not only the richness of the Inn, but of the guests as well. Her family might be very comfortable financially, but this was real wealth. She couldn't stop herself from staring open-mouthed at everything.

Reno wasn't happy with his wife's reaction. He had left his family for a reason, and he didn't want her trying to get back into the fold. He took his tie off and shoved it halfway into his pocket. If he was going to spend two weeks here, he was going to do it on his terms. He pulled out his shirt as well, and he felt much better looking so unkempt. Grabbing Aerith's slack hand, he led her into the lobby and up to the registration desk.

"Oh, Mr. Sinclair!" the assistant manager blurted out when he came out from the office in response to Reno ringing the service bell. "We were told to expect you. This must be your charming wife." He flashed an artificial smile at Aerith, who was still in awe of the opulent splendor everywhere. "The honeymoon penthouse suite is all ready for you, and if there's anything you need, feel free to call me personally at anytime. Give my best to your wonderful family, and please enjoy your stay." he said as he handed the keycards to Reno.

"This is a palace!" Aerith breathed as they entered the elevator.

"Don't get used to it, we're only here for two weeks." Reno pointed out in a sour tone, hitting the button for the penthouse floor.

"You don't like all of this?" she asked out of curiosity, since she really didn't know much about the man she was committed to for life now.

"I like honesty. Propriety can kiss my ass." was Reno's answer as the elevator doors opened to their floor. "That must be ours." He pointed to the door with a double heart symbol on it, and led Aerith to it, testing one of the keycards, which worked.

"This is just one big bedroom!" Aerith exclaimed as Reno opened the door, barely noticing that their luggage was already there as she took in the huge bed, the jacuzzi tub, state of the art entertainment center, and rose petals everywhere. There was a small table that had an ice bucket on top of it, keeping a bottle of champagne chilled. Everything was within five feet of the bed, which had chocolates on the pillow.

"That's the point." Reno said, finding the DO NOT DISTURB sign, and quickly put it on the outside of the door, closing it and taking his distracted wife in his arms. "I have some ideas on the best way to start our honeymoon…"

Shelke Rui was having the time of her thirteen year-old life. Her older sister Shalua had surprised her with a vacation at the Avalanche Inn in a penthouse suite. She had started feeling neglected by her sister, but this made up for it all. She met so many interesting people, and she could shop and order room service and do just about anything! Except interrupt her sister's phone calls…

"You're worrying about nothing!" Shalua snapped on her cellphone. "There's nothing wrong with taking a little holiday with my kid sister. And this place is perfect! I'll tell you all about it when I get back. Okay, I'll do that." Shalua hung up the phone and looked apologetic at Shelke. "I'm going out for a bit, don't wait up for me."

"Fine." Shelke pouted. "But I'm not a kid!"

Shalua smiled as she opened the door. "If I can still kick your butt, you're still my kid sister!" With that she left, firmly closing the door behind her.

Shelke woke up a little while later, having fallen asleep while watching a rated R movie. Disoriented momentarily, she eventually realized the noises she heard weren't coming from the TV.

"I can't believe you're making me waste my time on this nonsense. I guarantee you there is no foul play in this hotel, especially in the honeymoon suite. I expect you to apologize to our clients when this is all over!" The assistant manager told the two security guards as they got in the service elevator.

"All complaints must be investigated to save your sorry ass from a potential lawsuit." Rude reminded the simpering man.

"We're only here because we get discounted rates on our rooms in exchange for moonlighting as security. You can deal with on-the-clock police if you'd prefer." Vincent added.

The assistant manager quit whining as they exited the elevator onto the penthouse floor. An anxious Shelke was pacing back and forth. "What took you so long? He's probably cleaning up after himself while deciding how to dispose of the body! I watch _Greed and Passion_!" Shelke informed them of her fan status of the forensically based soap opera show, expecting them to be impressed.

"Security!" Rude knocked on the honeymoon suite door. "We'd like to talk to you!"

The group in the hallway heard some loud cursing, and moments later the door was flung open and a naked Reno stood there, causing Shelke to gasp and look away.

"Honey, it's for you!" Reno said after he saw Rude and Vincent standing there, causing his eyes to widen slightly before a smirk got pasted on his face.

"What's going on?" Aerith asked from the bed, then grabbed one of the complimentary robes, tying it on her as she came to the door. "I only agreed to talk like that because it is our hone…oh!" Aerith gasped as well when she saw the crowd, and started blushing as she tried to hide behind her husband.

Rude and Vincent's jaws dropped as they saw Aerith and realized what happened. Vincent was the first to recover. "Oh, Lucrecia is gonna love this! Enjoy the rest of your stay, you two lovebirds!" he said as he started laughing back towards the elevator, Rude not far behind him.

"What is everyone laughing at?!" Shelke demanded to know. "If you don't tell me, I'll tell my sister Shalua how mean you all were to me, and she'll…"

"Shalua?" Reno and Aerith asked together, shocked to hear that name.

"Yeah, and you just wait til she gets back, and she'll…" Shelke got interrupted again.

"I think that's a great idea. Hey, you two!" Reno called out to Rude and Vincent as they were getting into the elevator. "I think you'll need to stay up here for a while. I'll put clothes on if you do."

Rude and Vincent looked at each other and then shrugged. The Avalanche Inn was paying for it all, why not?

 _MIDGAR FIRST NATIONAL BANK ROBBERY SOLVED_! Aerith read the headline to Reno the next day when they finally woke up and ordered room service. The paper came with their meal, so she decided to read it.

"I guess karma's not always a bad thing." Reno remarked as he started on his small meat lover's pizza he ordered for his breakfast.

"What do you mean by that?" Aerith asked as she cut a bite-sized piece off of her veggie, mushroom, and cheese omelet.

"You calling the cops on me when I had…um…whatever her name was…at my place is what got us mad at each other, which is what gave me the idea to kiss you during the bank robbery, which started things that got us married, and on our honeymoon we help catch the robbers with the same cops that took the first call. By the way, how did it feel to have them called on you this time?" Reno asked his wife.

"What do you mean, called on me? They were called on both of us." Aerith replied.

"It's cause you were so loud, that's what the initial phone call was about, I had nothing to do with it." Reno smiled.

"I only talked like that because you're my husband now and that was something you wanted for your honeymoon!" she snapped at him as she took serious umbrage with his putting all the blame on her. "If this is the thanks I get…"

Reno's smile widened as he watched Aerith fume somewhat in silence after her outburst. He had no regrets about getting married to her, since it was obvious she wasn't one of the two types of women he knew growing up. Either totally repressed like a robot or totally rebellious like an animal. Aerith was quite human, and he liked her just fine.


End file.
